The Hide and Seek Job
by gibbsrossi
Summary: Nate and the teams' new job could prove to be very dangerous. Can they outsmart a very powerful and vicious man who will stop at nothing to get his way. Teamfic
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Nathan Ford…?" The man asked hesitantly.

"Geoffrey March…?" Nate replied looking at the man who had approached him.

"Yes, thank you for meeting me." Geoffrey said scanning the area thoroughly before settling himself at the table with Nate. "I was told that you would be able to help me."

"Well Mr. March why don't you tell me about it, then I will tell you if I can."

Geoffrey looked at the man seated before him. His eyes were keen and sharp, blue and probing. Geoffrey felt he was looking right through him and it was a little unsettling. He had unruly black curls that framed his face. He sat slouched in his seat with a glass of whiskey sitting on the table in front of him. He had heard a lot about this man and his crew. They were after all in the same business, the business of helping people who had nowhere else to turn. He scanned the room again then leaned into the table lowering his voice as he started to explain his problem.

"Mr. Ford, I work for an organization that helps abused women get away from their spouses. We make sure them and their children make a clean break and get to start a new life in a safe place. We never turn somebody away. If they are in trouble we help them. Usually we are able to maintain our anonymity and the men they are trying to get away from never find out about our involvement. The women simply disappear. We are not a big organization; in fact most of my people are just ordinary citizens who are trying to help those at risk. The women who help me are mostly from abusive homes or relationships themselves. They put themselves in danger to do this. Most of these men are vicious and violent people who will stop at nothing to get their wives or children back." Geoffrey sat back slightly in his seat as a waiter came to the table and asked if they would like anything. Nate ordered another whiskey and Geoffrey asked for a glass of water. Once the waiter had walked away from the table he started talking again. "The problem Mr. Ford; is that we have managed to piss off a very powerful, very rich man. He has unlimited resources and he is determined not only to find his wife and daughter, whom we helped, he wants to hurt us…that is everybody who was involved in helping them get away." Geoffrey said genuine fear filling his voice.

"I understand…what is it that you want me to do for you." Nate asked,

"I want you to take him down Mr. Ford. I want you to stop him from finding his wife and daughter because believe me if he does, they will wish they were dead. Oh, he will not kill them, no but he will make their lives a living hell, worse than what he already had, and they will never be free of him." Geoffrey said softly. It was true he was afraid for himself and the woman that had helped him on this case. But his main fear was that if this man found his wife and child…well the consequences of that was too horrible to contemplate. He would do anything to prevent that from happening.

"Well I will need some information on who this man is and his wife and daughter too." Nate said softly, he was going to help, he had too, this was not the kind of request you turned down. "Don't worry; we are going to help you."

Geoffrey nodded in response then handed Nate a large envelope. "That is everything on this case. I have not disclosed the current location of his wife and child. I think we should keep that on a need to know." Geoffrey said, he was not willing to give up their location not even to Nate.

"That's fine; we don't need to know that." Nate smiled at the man. "Let me take this to my team and we will be in touch. Why don't you go home and just keep a low profile for now."

"Thank you Mr. Ford. Thank you very much." Geoffrey said as he stood "All my contact details are also in the envelope. I will just wait for you call then?"

"Yes, we will be in contact soon. Just be careful, if this man is as dangerous as you say…"

"Don't worry; I can take care of myself. I am just worried about the women in my network. I don't think he knows who any of them are, not yet at least…" Geoffrey said softly. "But if he does find out Mr. Ford…well this man is capable of anything." Geoffrey said fear again creeping into his voice.

"Well perhaps you should tell them all to keep a low profile too for now. Do you have any other jobs you are busy with?"

"No, not at the moment, I have told my ladies not to do anything to draw attention to themselves and I don't want to take on any new jobs until we have ended this. I am afraid he would…well he could take it out on either the people who help me or the people we are helping. I can't endanger them. Mr. Ford, we need to stop this man soon, there are a lot of women out there who need help and have nowhere else to turn except to us."

"Don't worry…me and my team will make sure this man never hurts another person, least of all his own family, or yours." Nate promised.

Geoffrey thanked him again then walked out of the restaurant. Nate watched him leave. He noted that after he had walked through the doors he stopped and briefly scanned the road before him. He turned his collar up and dropped his head. Then he turned and walked quickly away, fading into the crowd.

An hour later Nate walked into the teams' conference room and took his place at the front of the room, the entire team was there and Hardison gave him a quick look asking the question.

"OK Hardison, let's run it…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hardison nodded at Nate and then started with his presentation.

"Ok we have Garrison Hartley; he is one of the most influential men in Washington DC, he owns a few Senators and Congressmen, and it is said that owns more than a few policemen too. They in turn help him when he has…let's just say his little problems. He is a trust fund kid. He has more money than Bill Gates and is not afraid to use it to get what he wants. He has various business interests around the world, some of which are considered on the less than legal side." Hardison said then changing the slide to show a woman and a young girl he continued. "He is married to Cynthia and they have a daughter Monique. Cynthia married Garrison who is more than ten years her senior when she was only nineteen. It seems that the marriage was arranged by Hartley and Cynthia's father who received a sizable chunk of cash the day of the wedding…"

"He sold his daughter…?" Eliot said with disgust.

"Yeah, well he died a few years ago of a heroin overdose." Hardison said giving the probable reason for Cynthia's fathers' actions. "Monique is seven years old. Now…there have been no visits to the hospital for either Cynthia or Monique, however there have been frequent visits by a private doctor to the Hartley home over the years. Cynthia very seldom goes out in public and when she does she is always accompanied by a 'bodyguard' or is on her husbands' arm. She has no friends that I can find; basically he isolates her in the house and keeps her on a short leash when she is out in public. Monique has private tutors and also hardly ever leaves the house except under guard or with her father."

"So he is rich and powerful with some dodgy businesses. What's the angle Nate?" Sophie said turning to the Mastermind.

"Well…" Nate said standing up and taking Hardisons place in the front of the group. Hardison sat down in front of his laptop, ready to give Nate the information he knew he was going to ask for. "It seems as if Mr. Hartley likes to gamble and he also likes art. Specifically, he likes unique and unobtainable art." Nate said with a smile at his Grifter.

"That's true. He likes to gamble, poker mainly, and he is not very good at it or so it would seem..." Hardison said his manner indicating that he believed his lack of ablility in the game. "He has a weekly game with some high powered people, politicians, big business men and the Chief of Police amongst others."

"So you think he is paying off these guys by letting them win big dough in the game?" Eliot said following Hardison's train of thought. It was plausible and very cleaver. Nothing could lead back to the players…after all it was a game of chance.

"Well Hartley drops a couple of thousand a week, almost exactly the same amount to each of the participants…you tell me?" Hardison replied smiling at the Hitter. "Anyway, he is also rumored to have one of the best private collections of stolen art in the world." He continued as he saw Nate's eyes on him.

"What I don't understand is if he kept such a tight leash on his wife, how did she get our clients help in the first place?" Eliot asked.

"That I can't tell you that…but what I can tell you is that a maid in the Hartley household left their employ the same time as Cynthia and the kid disappeared…" Hardison said meaningfully.

"So she had help from the maid…" Parker stated.

"Yes, and that very same maid, a Martha Hammond, had an unfortunate accident, she fell down her stairs at home and broke her neck the day afterwards…or that is what the official report said anyway." Hardison said intimating that he did not believe a word of it.

"So he had her killed…?" Sophie asked.

"I didn't say that and I can't prove it but I wouldn't bet against it." Hardison confirmed.

"So Nate…?" Sophie asked expectantly of their Mastermind.

"Well, we need to get into the poker game…Hardison will set me up as a rich business man who has just moved to Washington, a rich business man with good connections of course…then I will drop a few hints about my art collection…"

"Which will bring me into play as your source of the art…?" Sophie finished for him.

"Right and then…." Nate confirmed.

"Then we get him to want to get his hands on something that every art collector wants…" Nate continued for him.

"Then we have him arrested and thrown in jail…" Parker said happily.

"No, I can't see how that's going to work, what with him having all that influence…" Eliot piped up.

"You're right Eliot, we can't have him arrested here, he will either buy or bribe his way out of it, but if we get him to another country, one where they don't take kindly to theft of national icons…" Nate said with a sly smile.

"And how do we do that?" Eliot asked seeing far too many dangerous variables in the plan Nate was hatching in his mind.

"Well Eliot I haven't got to that yet…but I'm working on it." Nate said thoughtfully. His thoughts; and the discussion; was interrupted when his cellphone started ringing. Nate answered it and immediately Eliot could see there was something very wrong.

"Hardison get an ambulance to 1122 Woodlands drive NOW." Nate said, he was already moving toward the door, grabbing his keys along the way. "Eliot you are with me, the rest of you stay here, and keep the door locked." He said meaningfully.

"Nate…what's happened?" Sophie asked him as he opened the door.

"Hartley got to Geoffrey…" Nate said then walked out the door without further explanation and Eliot on his heels.

Nate and Eliot arrived at Geoffrey's home in short time. They approached with caution, Eliot keeping Nate behind him. The door was open and the house was silent. When they entered, the house seemed deserted, but then Nate saw a hand protruding from behind the sofa in the living room. He ran passed Eliot who gave him an exasperated look then followed him into the room. Nate knelt at the side of the badly beaten and obviously tortured man who lay unmoving on the living room floor.

"Geoffrey…" Nate said loudly as he felt for the man's pulse. Geoffrey's eyes fluttered open on hearing Nate's voice.

"Mr. Ford…you, you need to help them…find…at…Murphy's" Geoffrey said battling to get the words out. He lost his battle though and his head lolled to the side, his eyes wide and unseeing.

"Nate…he's gone, we need to get out of here before the cops arrive." Eliot said urgency in his voice.

Nate nodded then stood up and looking down at the bloody body on the ground shook his head sadly.

"Nate…now man..." Eliot said again as he heard the distant sound of sirens approaching.

Nate looked at his Hitter and nodded again and started moving toward the door. Eliot followed behind and after they had both exited he took a second to wipe the handle of the door. It was the only place that he could think either he or Nate had touched in the house. The last thing they needed was the cops tracing Nate or him to the house and linking them to a murder, especially with Hartley being so connected to the force. They then both got in the car and Eliot drove off sedately, he did not want any neighbors reporting a car speeding away from the scene. They passed the cops a few blocks later as they sped toward the scene.

"He is going to pay for this…Hartley is going pay dearly." Nate said softly his voice full of deadly menace. Eliot turned and looked at their Mastermind; his job had just become a lot harder because this job had just become very personal to Nate, and that meant the Mastermind was going to stop at nothing to bring down their mark, no matter what it took.

**Thanks to stella, Sphinx and carebear818, I really appreciate your enthusiasm…I will try not to disappoint.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When Nate and Eliot arrived back at the apartment it was clearly apparent to the three who waited for them that something had changed. Nate's expression was hard and immediately on entering the place he made a bee line for the kitchen to get himself a drink. The first one he downed in one go before pouring a second then taking a seat at the table. The rest arranged themselves around the table and waited to hear what was happening. Nate told them briefly what they had found at the house and that although their client was dead, the job was still on. The rest all expected nothing less so there were no arguments. Nate then gave instructions to Hardison; he wanted him to find out everything he could about Geoffrey March. He also wanted him to check if there was any connection between March and anybody or anyplace called 'Murphy'. He also told him to check Geoffrey's phone records to see who he had called and when. He needed to have all the information the cops would have. March might not have broken under torture. He might not have given away his people or the location of Hartley's wife and child. But he could have left something for Hartley and his henchmen or police buddies to trace. He needed to trace it first.

"What about us Nate…?" Sophie asked after Nate had finished with Hardison.

"You do nothing for now, we don't know what Hartley knows or does not know, we don't even know if he knows that March came to us or who we are. For now we just plan. This is going to be very dangerous; this man is capable of anything." Nate responded. He was worried that if Hartley had traced March, he might have seen him meeting with Nate. If that was so, then Nate did not want him knowing about the rest of the team. "Eliot you need to make sure that this apartment is secure, that we are secure." He said knowing he was stating the obvious. He was sure that ever since they had found March Eliot had been making his plans to keep his team safe. "We don't know if Hartley knows about us so we will be careful."

Nate held his hand up at the protests of both Sophie and Parker. He knew both hated sitting around doing nothing when there was a con being run. "Don't worry I have plenty of work for both of you. For now, Sophie you can get in touch with your contacts and find me some valuable art that Hartley would be interested in. Parker you are going to steal it…" Nate smiled at the young woman as her face lit up at the prospect. "We will be giving it back though…" He finished seeing her face drop and smiling even wider

"What about me…" Eliot asked; he would not have to do much to secure the apartment; all arrangements were already in place anyway.

"Well you're a retrieval expert, I need you to retrieve Hartley's wife and daughter, or at least try to find them, leave them where they are if you think they are safe. But if you can find them with the clues we have from March, then so can Hartley." Nate said seriously. This job was now not just about bringing the mark down; it was about protecting his family from him. "Also check out March's helpers and network, we need to get word to the people involved that they could be in danger, and again if you can find them…" Nate did not have to finish the sentence for Eliot to understand the implications. "The other thing; Hardison you need to get me an apartment, an exclusive one…you know the drill."

"No way man, I ain't allowing you to be out there on your own, not going to happen. I can't watch your back if you ain't here." Eliot said firmly.

"I'll be fine Eliot. If Hartley knows about us then he will come for us before I go anywhere…if he does not, we can assume he doesn't know about us. He will however check me out and I need a place." Nate said trying to placate his Hitter.

"Still don't like it man." Eliot said gruffly. He knew he was not going to change Nate's mind but he wanted it understood that he objected to at least that part of the plan.

Two days later Nate was ready to put his plan into action. Hardison had created an airtight alibi for him as James Jason Burlington Beckett IV. He was a man who came from an old family with extensive fortune in England. He was the black sheep of the family who had come to America against the wishes of his father. He had his own fortune that he inherited from his Maiden Aunt. He was an insatiable gambler and a playboy of note. Nate now just had to get Hartley interested in him. He had Hardison track his movements, where he ate, where he partied, who he partied with and anything else he did or anyplace he went. Finally Nate had decided that meeting him accidentally in one of his favorite 'men's only' clubs was the most viable. He had Hardison get him membership. Once inside it was up to Nate to get himself into Hartley's crowd.

Nate walked into the club later that evening. He took a seat on the far side of the room and ordered bourbon and a cigar. Sitting back in his chair as he sipped the expensive liquor and lit up his cigar, he surveyed the room surreptitiously looking over all the men with a slight air of disgust. It was typical of these elite men's clubs in the Washington. The men here were all independently wealthy, elitists who thought they were better than most. It was a place where politicians came to curry favour with their major campaign contributors and business men came to network and make deals. He knew this type of people; he had dealt with them when he had worked for IYS Insurance. He knew he could not rush this con. He could not come on too strong because that would create suspicion. He had to ease himself into the scene. He had to give the impression that he was not really interested in anything but himself. He smiled slightly thinking that Sophie would tell him that that should not be too hard for him. Hartley had not arrived yet but Nate knew he was coming. It was Tuesday night and every Tuesday Hartley had dinner at the club. Nate's goal was to be noticed by Hartley and then invited to his poker evening. How he was going to do that he was still not sure.

Nate was on his second glass of bourbon when Garrison Hartley walked into the club.

**Thank you all for your reviews, they are truly greatly appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Nate watched the man walk into the room. He was obviously well known because everybody he passed was greeted with a handshake and a few words. Hartley made his way to his usual table in the dining room of the Club and sat down. He did not seem to have any company that night. Nate finished his drink and put out his cigar then made his way to the dining room. He requested a table and was shown to one on the opposite side of the room to his mark.

"Nate…how are you going to do this?" Sophie asked in his ear.

"Don't know…" Nate replied honestly. He had no idea how to get to Hartley, he would just have to wait and watch for his opportunity. He knew that Hartley liked gambling and art, one of those would be his in, he was just not sure which one. Sophie had found a piece of art for him to use as bait. It was a very unique piece that was unobtainable except by illegal means. It should be good enough to hook him; the question was how did he introduce it to him?

"What may I get for you sir?" The waiter asked interrupting his thoughts.

"Oh… whatever the chef's special is and a whiskey." Nate said.

"Very well sir." The waiter said and left.

Nate looked over to Hartley again and noticed that he had another man join him for dinner. He took his phone out and, careful not to be observed, he took a photo of the unknown man.

"Hardison, find out who he is." Nate said.

"I'm on it…just give me a minute" The Hacker acknowledged retrieving the photo and putting it into his facial recognition program. "Ok…ok… he is one Paul Montgomery, CEO of Transworld Industries, and Import and Export Company. They work extensively throughout Europe and the Far East." Hardison told Nate.

"Anything off…" Nate asked quietly. He had been keeping his eyes on Hartley and noticed that Hartley seemed very pleased with what Montgomery was telling him.

"Well apparently the company has been investigated for smuggling of various things, from drugs to art." Hardison said his eyes focused on his computer screen. "Nothing has ever been proved but the FBI considers them a "Company of Interest" as it were."

"Interesting…" Nate said thoughtfully. He was wondering if he could use this new information and development in the evening's events.

"What are you thinking Nate?" Sophie asked the Mastermind.

"I'm thinking this could be my in with Hartley, and yours." Nate replied. He was not sure how, but he knew he could use Paul Montgomery to get to Hartley. "Sophie, how are you and Parker doing with the acquisition of that piece of art?" Nate asked.

"Sophie and I are leaving tomorrow. It should be easy." Parker said. Sophie looked at her incredulously. Easy the girl said. Easy…she had to break into the house, get to the high security vault, get into the vault and then get out again. All of this without firstly setting off any of the alarms; get passed the lasers and the pressure sensitive alarms around the object they were after, and after all of that, she had to get passed the armed guards and the dogs. She needed to be in and out in minutes. Sure she would have Hardison help with the tech stuff but still…it was not something that most thieves would even attempt let alone call easy. Parker watched the expression on Sophie's face change to incredulity and shrugged her shoulders…"What…it's what I do!" Parker said; she was constantly amazed at the way her team reacted to her when it came to breaking into places.

"Good, Sophie you need to set yourself up in a Villa, and stay there, we will be coming to you." Nate said as the waiter approached with his meal. He ordered another whiskey and started to eat his meal. He knew he had to be patient and wait for his opportunity.

"Nate…what are you thinking?" Sophie asked.

Nate did not respond immediately, there was a plan germinating in his mind but he needed things to fall into place for him to initiate it.

"Not sure yet…" Nate said in response to Sophie's question.

As it turned out it came about an hour later when Nate had retired back to the smoking room. He had followed Hartley into the room and taken a position not too close to him but close enough for Hartley to overhear the conversation he was about to have. Nate had asked Sophie to call him. She dialed his number ten minutes later.

"Ah hello mon amour..." Nate answered in a soft sweet tone.

"Nate what is the plan then…" Sophie asked him blushing slightly at his intimate tone and words of love.

"Oh no my sweet I told you I am not interested right now." Nate said

"Oh, so the plan is to pique his interested and then spring the trap with the artwork?" Sophie said smiling into the phone.

"I said I wasn't interested…" Nate's tone of voice changing from adoration to irritation. "Not even in the Vermeer." Nate said lowering his voice slightly. He threw a quick glance around the room as if he was suddenly uneasy about anybody overhearing his conversation. He noted with satisfaction that Hartley had shown a brief flash of interest on hearing the name of the artist in question.

"Don't oversell it Nate…is he interested?" Sophie asked.

"Fine…fine, I will see if anybody is interested, but that is high end…" Nate said dropping his voice even more. He could tell Hartley was interested, but Sophie was right he could not oversell it.

"Don't call me again, I'll contact you." Nate said into the phone and hung up. He made his way to the bar and ordered another drink. He stood lounging at the bar not paying any attention to anything when Hartley was suddenly standing next to him.

"Garrison Hartley." Hartley introduced himself with a tone that indicated that Nate should know who he was.

"James Jason Burlington Beckett IV…" Nate said holding out his hand to Hartley…"Please to make your acquaintance." Sophie laughed slightly at Nate's English accent which caused a flash of annoyance on his face, luckily Hartley did not notice.

"I haven't seen you at the club before." Hartley said taking Nate's offered hand.

"I haven't been here before. One of my American business partners recommended it as a place to meet people of good quality." Nate replied.

"Good quality…? Nate…what are you from out of the eighteenth century." Sophie asked. It really annoyed her the way that none of these guys knew anything about England or proper English society. "Really…"

"I see." Hartley said turning to the barkeeper and ordering another whiskey for Nate and one for himself. When they arrived he lifted his glass to Nate and said "To people of good quality." Nate raised his glass in return drinking with him.

"Let's have a seat and a cigar shall we?" Hartley suggested,

"Sounds good…" Nate agreed and the two retired to the oversized leather chairs and took their seats opposite each other.

"So James…may I call you James?" Hartley asked then continued without waiting for a response. "So James what brings you to America?"

"Well things were pretty dull in England so I thought I would try my luck here in America." Nate replied taking another sip of his whiskey.

"What is it you do?" Hartley asked bluntly.

"Oh you know old chap, a little of this, a little of that." Nate said trying to be as evasive as possible.

"I couldn't help but overhear you talking to your friend earlier…something about a Vermeer?" Hartley said. Nate was surprised he had jumped right in.

"Oh that, that was nothing just an old friend who wanted to know if I was interested in buying a piece." Nate said nonchalantly.

"Really…which one…?" Hartley asked trying to hide his enthusiasm. "I am a bit of a collector myself and might be interested." Nate hid his amusement at the man's attempt to hide his eagerness to get his hands on a Vermeer.

"Oh well, it's not really…" Nate leaned forward and whispered rather dramatically to Hartley. "Legal…you know." He then sat back and winked at him.

"Really…well which one are we talking about?" Hartley said and Nate could see the thoughts going through his mind. He was trying to remember which Vermeer's were missing or stolen. Nate let him stew for a minute, wanting the man to think he was reluctant to share with him.

"I mean, you know being a collector sometimes our pieces are rather…uniquely acquired." Hartley said trying to put Nate at ease.

"Well, I don't know, perhaps we should just forget you heard anything, I wouldn't want to get myself into any trouble in your country." Nate said deliberately throwing his eyes suspiciously around the room as if expecting somebody to arrest him for dealing in stolen art.

"No, no really, I am interested, which artwork?" Hartley said with a little more force.

"Well…ok…" Nate said then leaned forward again and lowering his voice. "The Concert…." Nate stated and nodded is confirmation when he saw the disbelief on Hartley's face.

"That's not possible, that painting disappeared in 1990 had has never been seen again." Hartley said sitting back in his chair and smiling at Nate.

"Well yes it was stolen. My friend bought it from the thief and she is now having some…financial trouble…if you know what I mean." Nate said sitting back in his seat too and taking another drink, not wanting Hartley to think he was eager to broker a deal for him.

"Well, if it really is 'The Concert' I might be interested." Hartley said casually.

"Really, well I don't know what she wants for it, but I am sure it is going to be in the six figure range." Nate said meaningfully.

"If it is the genuine article, it would be worth every cent." Hartley said totally unfazed by the figure Nate had intimated it would cost. "Would your 'friend' be able to get the painting, I would have to have it verified before we can talk any business, naturally?" Hartley asked.

"I don't think she would be able to bring the painting into your country, I don't think she would be willing to take the risk. You would have to go to her in Europe." Nate said doubtfully. "I am not sure how you would be able to get the painting into this country without…well difficulty." Nate continued.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I have certain connections which will deal with any problem in that department." Hartley said. "Where is the painting now?"

"Well she is in France at the moment but…I could set up a meeting."

"Good, good, as soon as possible." Hartley said then called the waiter over and ordered new drinks for them.

"Well alright, I will call her in the morning and organize it." Nate said.

"Ok, good. Why don't you let me have your card and I will be in touch tomorrow." Hartley said.

Nate knew he wanted his details so that he could get him checked out. He gave him his card and finished his drink. Then he made his assurances that he would contact his 'friend' and set up a meeting in order to verify the art.

"Here we go…he's on the hook." Nate said as he climbed into the cab and headed to his rented apartment.

**Thanks again for the reviews…please keep them coming they really do spur me on greatly.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

As soon as Nate got to his apartment he opened the secure video link with his team.

"Ok, he's on the hook. Now we have to close the deal." Nate said as they came online.

"So what's the plan?" Sophie asked.

"We go to France; you will have your cover set up, a rich heiress with a penchant for stolen artwork. You need to get rid of the art because you got yourself into some financial trouble. Parker you can get the piece?" Nate asked the blonde thief.

"No problem." Parker assured him.

"Good, we then get him to close the deal on the painting and then get it back to the States. That is where you come in Hardison."

Hardison looked at him at a loss as to what he meant. What was he supposed to do?

Nate saw the questioning look in the Hackers eyes and smiled. "You are going to play Mr. FBI agent again. If we play this right we will kill three birds with one stone." Nate said rather cryptically.

"Huh…?" Parker blurted out not quite following Nate's reasoning.

"Well Parker, firstly we get a stolen masterpiece back where it belongs. Then we will get Montgomery and his company and most importantly we are going to get Mr. Garrison Hartley caught in the act of smuggling stolen artwork amongst other things."

"Ok…I see the first and second parts and how that will work…but Nate, how in the world is this going to get Hartley? I mean he has connections and he is not going to be stupid enough to accompany the painting, he will leave that to Montgomery surely." Sophie said trying to see the angle Nate was working and failing dismally.

"She's right Nate…Hartley isn't going to let himself be connected to the stolen art." Eliot chipped in.

"No he is not. But that is not what we are going to get him for. I'll explain everything later. For now let's just concentrate on getting the painting and the rest of the arrangements." Nate said.

"Fine, Hardison has organized a flight for later tonight for us to France. He also has the schematics of the target and we should be in and out by morning." Eliot said giving up on trying to figure out what Nate was scheming, in the five years he had worked with the man he still did not get him sometimes. He was a genius who was always ten steps ahead of the game and trying to keep up was a waste of time, Eliot knew he had a plan and that it would probably work, just like most other times.

"I have contacted a friend of mine who is currently on safari in Africa. She has a very nice villa on the Riviera. She said I could use it for as long as we need it." Sophie led on from Eliot.

"I have taken care of Sophie's alias, it's airtight of course." Hardison said completing the picture for the next few days.

"Good, but Hardison you will be staying here. I need to you organize the FBI side of things for when we spring the trap. Eliot you are staying too." Nate said looking at his Hitter and waiting for the obligatory refusal to leave the girls and himself unprotected in France.

"No way Nate…you three aren't going to France without backup." Eliot said finality in his voice.

"Eliot I need you here. We still have the wife and kid to think of as well as any other people in March's network that may have been compromised." Nate said trying to explain his reasoning.

"Nate, what if something goes wrong in France. I won't be able to get there in time if there is a problem. No man, you need another plan." Eliot replied gruffly.

"Eliot nothing is going to happen in France. Sophie and I will be fine." Nate said and then saw the questioning look on Parkers face. "You will be flying back as soon as you have secured the painting. Hardison may need his FBI partner and Eliot will probably need you if he finds the wife and kid." Nate explained to the confused looking girl.

"Ok…" Parker said not questioning Nate. She had complete and utter faith in the Mastermind and would go and do whatever he said. Nate looked at her not really expecting her to argue. Her complete trust in him scared him sometimes.

"Well we better get going, our flight leaves in three hours." Hardison said.

"Fine, I will meet you all over there. Hartley is supposed to contact me tomorrow morning sometime. Hopefully we will be in France by the day after. Good luck guys." He finished.

"I still don't like this plan, not the part where we are all in France while you deal with Hartley and not when you are in France and we are not. I don't like it, I'm just saying." Eliot reminded Nate. He was not happy. He would go along with this but if anything went wrong he and Nate were going to have a long talk about team and personal safety. He sighed deeply and just shook his head. Nate made his job difficult at the best of times, but this time he was pushing the envelope.

"Be careful Nate." Sophie said her eyes saying even more.

"Always…You and Parker take care as well. Parker in and out…no taking chances." Nate said, reminding Parker that he would not be happy if she pulled any funny stunts. She merely looked at him with that 'who me' look and walked away to get her bags. The others joined her giving Sophie and him a moment.

"Be careful Sophie…" Nate said softly.

"I will…" Sophie said in return. Neither said the words 'I love you and couldn't bear it if something happened to you' which both of them wanted to say. But it was there in their eyes, in the lingering look they gave each other before the connection was broken.

Parker and Sophie arrived in France and went straight to their target. Parker had it all planned out and all Sophie had to do was be ready to get away when she came out with the painting. Hardison had come through with the codes for the alarms and schematics of the place. Parker was in and out in no time with the painting in tow. Sophie drove her to the airport immediately and Hardison made sure she was on the next flight out. After dropping Parker off, Sophie made her way to the Villa she had organized. There was nothing more she could do now except wait for Nate. She made sure the stolen artwork was secure, then took a long bath and got into bed. She lay in bed and dialed his number.

"Sophie…" Nate answered his voice slurred indicating he had just woken up.

"Nate, sorry to wake you, I just wanted to let you know everything went according to plan. Parker is on her way home and I have the painting at the Villa."

"I know, Eliot called me the moment Hardison had confirmed the flight." Nate replied.

"Ok well then I will just wait for your call when you get here." Sophie said softly. "Nate…"

"I know. Me too…" Nate replied knowing what she wanted to say.

"Good night Nate…keep safe and see you soon." Sophie said unable to say the words she longed to say. Yes their relationship had strengthened and they were definitely a lot more than 'friends with extras', but neither of them had ever said the words.

"You too, sleep well Sophie. I'll see you in a day or too, I..." Nate almost said the words he wanted too but stopped himself just in time.

"Nate…?" Sophie said hearing the 'I' and remembering another phone call where he just could not get the words out.

"Nothing Sophie, just be careful and see you soon." Nate said softly then disconnected the call.

Just after had got off the phone with her there was a knock on his door. It was early morning and he was not expecting anybody. He approached the door carefully and looked through the peephole. There was a big man standing at the door, he was well dressed but obviously muscle of some kind. He drew a deep breath and opened the door.

"Mr. Beckett?" The man said and at Nate's nod he continued. "Mr. Hartley would like to you come see him at his home."

"Well, it is a bit early don't you think…" Nate said making his voice slurred again and wiping his eyes to create the impression he had just awoken.

"Mr. Hartley is waiting for you. I will drive you. I will wait while you change." The man said not offering Nate his name or any choice in the matter either.

"Fine…" Nate said and turned on his heel and headed into his bedroom to change. Half an hour later he emerged, dressed and showered. The man said nothing but opened the door and motioned for Nate to exit. He led Nate to his car and opened the back door for him. Nate got into the car; the man closed his door and then got into the divers seat and they were on their way.

Forty five minutes later they pulled up at Hartley mansion. The door was opened for Nate and he was ushered through the house to the back garden area.

"Ah, James…welcome to my humble home." Hartley greeted him standing up from the table he was seated at. "Please, sit, my cook makes a killer breakfast." Hartley motioned to Nate to take the seat as he sat down again. "I believe we have some business to discuss…"

**I know the last two chapters have been a bit slow, sorry about that but I have to lay the foundations. I promise there will still be a lot of action. Thanks for the reviews, especially to you carebare818 and Sphinx.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Events moved swiftly from when Nate met with Hartley to them stepping off the plane in France. Hartley had brought his art expert with him for verification purposes and of course the obligatory 'heavy' for security reasons. They exited the private jet and immediately got into the waiting car. Nate gave the driver the address of Sophie's Villa and they set off. Nate made some idle chatter with Hartley about France and other places in Europe that he had been. Hartley feigned interest. Luckily the trip was not long and within an hour they had arrived at the Villa. The butler met them at the door and ushered them into the house directing them to the room Sophie was in.

She rose when they came to the door. She was wearing a stunning blue dress which emphasized her legs. Her hair was loose framing her face beautifully. She smiled as they entered and went straight to Nate, throwing her arms around his neck she gave him a long lingering kiss, which he returned with relish. Hartley watched with mild amusement. Sophie pulled away after the kiss and smiled coyly at Hartley, as if she had just become aware of his presence.

"Oh, uh, Sophie this is Garrison Hartley…" Nate introduced him with a bit of a stutter still reeling from the kiss.

"Garrison Hartley, this is Pauline Agostini."

"A pleasure Mr. Hartley..." Sophie said offering the man her hand. Hartley took her hand and kissed it, leaving his lips lingering a little longer than Nate liked. He stifled the urge to deck the guy and smiled instead.

"Well Jamie…shall we get down to business first…?" Sophie asked.

"Mmmm…I like a woman who knows what is important." Harley said giving Sophie a lecherous smirk.

Sophie smiled back sweetly and brushed his face with her hand as she walked by. He turned to follow her without being asked too. Sophie was an expert at this, this is what she did. She had dealt with hundreds of men like Hartley. They were drawn in by her beauty and she could manipulate them into just about anything once she turned on her sweet charm. Nate just shook his head as he watched them walk away and then hurried after them.

"So Mr. Hartley you are a collector of fine art, I would like to see your collection someday…" Sophie said casually as they made their way into the room at the far end of the passage they were walking down.

"I think I would like that Pauline." Hartley replied enjoying the flirting a little too much for Nate's liking.

Walking to the middle of the room Sophie suddenly stopped and turned to face Hartley. "Well Mr. Hartley; do you like what you see?" Sophie.

"Very much Pauline…" Hartley said stepping toward her. Sophie however moved to one side and went to stand beside Nate. "Oh Mr. Hartley, you naughty boy…I meant the painting of course." She said in her sweetest voice.

"Yes of course…" Hartley said. He looked up at the wall and saw the painting he had come to buy hanging there. He was a little annoyed with Sophie's game and the way she was speaking to him but he refrained from showing his anger. First he wanted the painting then he would deal with the snooty bitch he thought.

Hartley walked up to the painting suddenly mesmerized. He ordered Nate to get his art expert. Hartley moved closer to the painting and then walked back to get a full look at the magnificent work. Nate was back with his expert in minutes. The man examined the painting and then declared it authentic. Hartley told him to wait in the front room for them.

"So Pauline, how much do you want for this wonder" Hartley said not even bothering to ask her how she had managed to obtain it.

"Oh…well Mr. Hartley I was thinking in the region of…say $150 000 000.00". Sophie replied seriously.

"A little high don't you think Pauline…" Hartley said.

"Oh I don't know Mr. Hartley; I think it is quite reasonable. The estimated value is around $300 000 000.00 so I believe it is a 'steal'" Sophie said giving a little giggle at her own joke.

"I'll give you $50 000 000.00 for it." Hartley said looking at the woman. "Now before you say anything Pauline, let me assure you that I know what kind of trouble you are in…financially and otherwise…and we both know that selling this painting is not going to be easy." Hartley said seeing Sophie's face darken with his words. "Take it or leave it." Hartley finished.

"Well Jamie, you haven't done me any favors with this one have you." Sophie said to Nate her voice thick with anger. If Nate had not known she was acting he would have been a little scared. Before Nate could respond Sophie swung around to face Hartley again.

"Mr. Hartley I do not know what you know or don't know about me, but believe me I do not need you or your ridiculous offer…I would thank you to leave my Villa now…" Sophie said hotly putting on the show of a woman who has been crossed.

"Now Pauline…I am sure Mr. Hartley meant no disrespect to you…"

"No James, I don't need you to speak for me." Hartley said to Nate in a deadly cold voice. "Believe me Pauline, you are going to regret that tone, I want the painting and you are going to sell it to me…At…My…Price." Hartley said and before Nate of Sophie had any time to do anything his security man was standing at the door with a gun pointed at Sophie.

"Hey…what are you doing Hartley…this is not…"

"Be quiet Beckett…" Hartley spat at Nate. He did not have much regard for the Englishman.

"No you just wait a minute Hartley…this is no way to negotiate anything…Pauline was quite reasonable in her price and you know it." Nate said stepping between Sophie and the man with the gun without hesitating.

Time seemed to stand still, not only for Nate and Sophie but also for the three people listening on the other side of the world. Eliot, Parker and Hardison sat listening with baited breaths, they could do nothing for either Sophie or Nate, Eliot just hoped that they still had a Sophie and Nate before this was over. He was angry and frustrated. Angry with Nate for allowing them to be in this situation and angry with himself for going along with this ridiculous plan, he was also frustrated at not being able to do a damn thing about it. When he did see Nate again they were going to have a long hard talk. Nate had underestimated the ruthlessness of this man. He was going to kill them and take the painting anyway. Eliot doubted he was ever going to pay for it in the first place. Dammit Nate…Eliot thought to himself.

Sophie smiled sweetly and moved from behind Nate and walked up to Hartley, placing her hand on his arm. "Now Mr. Hartley, I am sure that this can be settled quite amicably. I am willing to drop my price by $50 000 000.00 to $100 000 000.00." Sophie said putting on her best seductive voice. "Surely you can meet me halfway…" She whispered into his ear.

Nate watched as the scene between the two played out and even in this dire situation he admired Sophie's abilities. He was ready for anything, he kept one eye on the gunman and one on Hartley, he knew no shot would be fired without the man's say so and he was ready to dive at the man and in front of Sophie if that became necessary.

Hartley looked at the woman and then at Nate. "Well if you put it that way…how could I resist that offer?" Hartley said taking Sophie into his arms and laying a kiss on her lips. Sophie went with it hoping to save the day. She was willing to do almost anything to ensure Nate's safety. Nate looked on with disgust, not for Sophie, he knew she was doing what she thought she had to in order to get them out of this situation. He hated himself for putting her in this situation in the first place.

"Well my dear, I have reconsidered…" Hartley said pushing Sophie away and towards Nate. Nate took her arm and pushed her behind him.

"What is going on old chap…" Nate asked not having to fake a good slice of fear in his voice. He needed Hartley to carry on talking, he needed time to think.

"Well old chap…I have done my research as I said. You are a spoilt rich son of a man who thinks you are a no good for anything. You have not done a solid days work in your life. You are a gambler and a louse. Did you really think I would associate with British trash like you? And you my dear…" Hartley said to Sophie. "You are an heiress who has partied and spent her way through her entire fortune, thus here we are…So now my offer is a little lower…in fact a lot lower…I will give you your lives in exchange for the painting...maybe." Hartley said laughing a little. He motioned to his man to make sure they were covered and then called his expert in. "Mr. Jenkins, would you be so kind as to remove the painting to the car." He said as the man entered the room. Jenkins nodded to his boss and removed the painting and exited the room.

Nate watched Hartley closely. He had been very wrong about this man. He had completely misjudged him. Not only that, he had left Sophie and himself unprotected and without backup. He cursed himself for a fool. He needed to make sure that Sophie got out of this alive…even if he didn't.

"Hartley turned to them with a smirk on his face. "Well old chap…" He said mockingly. "This is goodbye…" He walked passed his man giving him a meaningful look and then disappeared down the corridor.

The gunman moved further into the room closing the door. He lifted his gun and aimed straight for Nate's head. Everything after that happened in a blur; Nate sprang forward with a speed of desperation, grabbing the man and throwing himself and the gunman who was taken by surprise to the ground. The man was about a foot taller than Nate and much heavier but Nate's determination to save Sophie gave him the edge. The two rolled on the floor the gun between them. A shot was fired and then there was complete silence. Sophie stared at the two on the floor, neither one was moving. The heavier man lay on top of Nate and Sophie could not see his face as she rushed forward and fell to her knees rolling the man off Nate. He was breathing hard and a thin sheen of sweat coated his forehead. Sophie cried his name as he sat up and took her into his arms. On the other side of the world three people held their breaths after the shot. They heard Sophie sob Nate's name and then silence again.

"Sophie, Nate…one of you talk to me… Sophie…" Eliot rasped fear biting at him.

"We're alright Eliot…but we have to get out of here NOW." Nate said standing and picking up the dead mans' gun. Then signaling to Sophie to stay behind him he opened the door carefully. Seeing nobody in the passage he opened it wide and took Sophie's hand and led her out of the door. They made their way to the back door of the Villa and into the lush back garden. They found some shelter behind a bush and kept as quiet as they could. Nate could hear a commotion inside the Villa. Hartley must have gone back to see what was happening. He heard him shout something then the car started up and sped off.

Nate waited a few minutes then stood pulling Sophie up with him. Taking her into his arms he kissed her passionately. Sophie kissed him back with the same passion until they eventually broke apart. Nate put his forehead to hers breathing heavily.

"Let's get out of here before he comes back, or worse, sends the police." Nate said softly. Sophie looked into his blue eyes and smiled at him.

He took her hand and they made their way carefully to the front of the house. Sophie got her keys out of her bag and they got into the car and left the Villa heading towards the airport. Nate instructed Hardison to have some plane tickets waiting for them under their alias of the Bakers. He also made sure that he was tracking Montgomery and that they would be ready for him when he tried to get the painting into the states, they could at least complete that part of the job. When they got to the airport they found two first class tickets waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Baker. Once they were on the plane Nate took his earbud out and signaled to Sophie to do the same.

"Sophie, I am so sorry…I should have seen that one coming…" Nate said his voice shaking slightly as the reality of what had just happened set in.

"Nate…it's ok…we are fine,.." Sophie said seeing the turmoil in his face.

"You could have died Sophie…I…I…don't know what I would have done. I can't lose you Sophie…It would have been my fault…I…I" Nate said trying to get the words out.

"But I didn't…thanks to you. Nate, we are both ok, it's done and we are going home, you know our jobs are dangerous. Sometimes we get it wrong." Sophie said trying to get him to calm down.

"I killed somebody Sophie…" Nate said softly, "I killed somebody and I would do it again to protect you." Nate said almost disgusted by the thought that he had taken a life but worse than that he did not regret it one bit. He knew he do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving Sophie.

"Nate…" Sophie said her eyes swimming in unshed tears as she watched him battle with himself over what he had had to do to protect her and himself.

"I would do it again Sophie in a heartbeat…because…because I love you Sophie Devereaux." He said quietly looking into her eyes.

"Oh Nate…I love you too…" She said before leaning into him and kissing him tenderly.

"Well it took you long enough…" Sophie said resting her head against his. She was still amazed he had taken that step, said those words. Nate smiled at her, tears glistening in his eyes. He loved this woman more than anything in the world. He had known it for a long time, but it had taken her nearly being killed for him to admit it.

Nate kissed her again before sitting back in his seat again. "This is not over Sophie…" He said to her as he took another sip of his whiskey. His words brought Sophie down from her emotional high slightly.

"I know…" She whispered back taking his hand in hers and closing her eyes.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter…thanks for the reviews…they are really greatly appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Arriving in Portland Sophie and Nate took a cab to Nate's house, which also doubled as their HQ. Nate had tried to institute having an office again and had even set one up in the hopes of having some privacy in his own home. It was all for nothing though. The team liked hanging out at his place. They considered it their home, even though they each kept their own places too. Most days and nights you could find all of them at Nate's house; they ate dinner together and often breakfast too. Sophie of course already lived there on a permanent basis. Luckily Nate was not unaware that this would be the case so when he had purchased the house he had made sure it was big enough for all of them. They could all happily live there without getting in each other's way.

Nate cringed a little when thinking of Eliot, he was not looking forward to seeing the Hitter. Nate knew he was in for a lecture from him on team safety. When he had told the Hitter not to meet them at the airport just in case Hartley had eyes on them and he did not want Hartley to know about the rest of the team, he was not very happy. In fact Nate had definitely discerned a decided growl of disapproval from the Hitter. Actually Nate was surprised that Eliot had not ignored him and come anyway. Then Nate smiled to himself. He probably had and was watching them as they walked through the airport. After what had happened in France, he was sure that Eliot was not going to allow them to be without protection again no matter what Nate said.

Nate and Sophie walked into the house to be met by three very anxious, and one very angry member of their team.

"What the hell were you thinking Nate?" Eliot said as the Mastermind walked in.

"Not now Eliot." Nate said the last thing he wanted now was a confrontation. Before Eliot could say anything more, Parker ran to Sophie and flung her arms around the woman; then she turned to Nate and gave him a hug too before going back to her bowl of cereal. Hardison was right behind her mumbling to Sophie and Nate that they should never do that again as he too gave them each a hug.

"Yes now Nate." Eliot said after the show of emotion from the younger two members of the team.

"Eliot…" Nate said in an exasperated voice. He was exhausted and all he wanted to do was take Sophie into his suite, have a shower and then get to bed. "I'm tired, Sophie is tired and we need to get some rest. I know what you are going to say and you are right. You will get no arguments from me and from now on I will listen to you I promise…OK." Nate said tiredly.

Eliot looked at the Mastermind; he could see that the day had taken a toll on him. Killing a man was never easy, even in self-defense. Add to that he had nearly lost Sophie. "OK…but we are going to have this conversation tomorrow morning first thing." Eliot said capitulating to him.

"Fine…" Nate said and taking Sophie's hand he led her towards their suite. "By the way…how is your part going?" Nate said as he got to his door.

"Fine…I have some leads. Hartley is trying everything to find his wife and kid, but he his men haven't gotten anywhere yet. I must hand it to March…he has a great network that seems completely undercover." Eliot gave Nate the quick rundown. He had not found anything, not a link in the network and not the two they were looking for.

Nate looked at his Hitter for a short time then nodded his satisfaction. Eliot was the best at his job. If he couldn't find anybody then it was a given that neither could Hartley or his men. For now she was safe and so was the kid. Both he and Sophie said their goodnights and went into the room closing the door behind them. They did not bother to lock it, if any of the team wanted to come in they would, with or without the door being locked.

"Nate…" Sophie said as they the door closed, she could only think of the words he had said on the plane.

"I meant every word Sophie, I love you…I should have said it a long time ago…" Nate said to her knowing where she was going. Sophie just nodded and tears clouded her eyes again. Nate took her into his arms and sealed her lips to his in a passionate kiss. "We need to get some sleep Soph…" Nate said after they broke from the kiss.

"Yes…yes we do, but we also need to talk about this Nate…" Sophie said quietly.

"Tomorrow…" Nate said softly.

They quickly undressed and had a quick shower before climbing into bed. Sophie cuddled up to Nate and kissed him lightly on the forehead before settling back, her head resting on his chest and his arm wrapped around her.

"I love you too Nate." She said as she drifted off to sleep.

Nate smiled at the words. It had taken them so long to admit their love for each other. All it had taken was almost losing her to make him realize that he could not live without her. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her the top of her head. Tomorrow he would have to make more decisions, decisions that could get any one of his team members, no he thought, his family killed. They followed his plan; they trusted him to pull the jobs off, trusted him to come up with the plan that would not only get the mark, but keep them safe as well. He thought about Hartley and anger rose inside him, a deep anger that he was afraid would cloud his judgment when it came to taking him down. He had lost so much in his life; he could not face losing anybody else. He had allowed himself to love again, a thing he had told himself he would never do. He had never wanted to care for somebody as much as he had cared for Sam and Maggie. He had never wanted to face the chance of losing somebody he loved again. It scared him that he had let himself get into this situation. The thing is he was happy. He had not been this happy in a long time. He loved these people, all of them. He loved Sophie more than he had ever loved anyone except Sam; he knew he loved her as much if not more than he had loved Maggie. His thoughts rambled through his mind holding off the sleep he desperately needed, this day had emotionally drained him, but he could not shut off all the thoughts, the 'what ifs', and the memory that he had taken a human life. Sophie stirred slightly and moved impossibly close to him.

"Sleep Nate…tomorrow we will figure it all out." Sophie muttered sensing Nate's turmoil.

Nate smiled and kissed her head again and squeezed her too him. She was right. He needed to sleep. He snuggled even closer to her and closed his eyes. Tomorrow he thought. He would deal with the problems tomorrow, for now all he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep with Sophie in his arms.

**Thanks again for all the kind words, keep the reviews coming…they are really appreciated. Next chapter will be up soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sophie woke to an empty bed. It was early and the room was still dark. She reached over and lifted the clock checking the time. It was 3am. Nate's side of the bed was cool, indicating that he had not been in it for a while. She threw the covers off and climbed out of bed. She made her was out of the room and into the living area of the house. Nate was sitting on the sofa, a glass of whiskey perched on the table in front of him. He did not notice her until she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Nate…what are you doing?" She asked softly.

"Couldn't sleep…" Nate replied.

Sophie walked around the sofa and sat down next to the man. She looked from the glass of whiskey to him. It was really rather early for him to be drinking but she decided not to say anything. She justsat back and waited for him to do the talking.

"I…I know it was in self-defense, and I know I would do it again given the same circumstances…but Sophie…I killed a man…I took his life." Nate said without looking at her. He reached out and took a sip of his whiskey. The memory of yesterday's events invaded his thoughts. Eliot had told him that killing somebody would change him forever, he had meant murdering Dubenich, but this felt the same. It was not murder by any stretch of the imagination. He knew they would both be dead if he had not done what he had. It still weighed on him though.

"Nate…you did what you had too, to protect me, to protect us."

"I know…I know…" Nate said softly. He ran his hands over his face and leaned back into the sofa pulling Sophie too him. "All I could think of was stopping him. I didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to get the gun away from him...All I could think of was…I was afraid…I can't lose you Sophie." Nate struggled to get his words our coherently. He lifted his eyes to the sky and sniffed back the tears that threated to fall. The emotional turmoil caused by the events at the Villa suddenly overwhelming him. He had nearly lost her, because of his arrogance, his certainty that he could outwit Hartley, his single-mindedness of making the man pay for killing March. He had put her in danger and she had almost paid a terrible price.

"Oh Nate…" Sophie said as she leaned in and kissed him tenderly. "You will never lose me…we will keep each other safe." She said embracing him tightly. The sat like that wrapped in each other's arms for a long time. Neither said anything, they just held each other.

After a while Nate turned his head to her and kissed her lightly. "Well Eliot and the rest will be here in a few hours, why don't we go back to bed." Nate said as he stood and took her hand. She rose and followed him back to the bedroom. Closing the door Nate took her in his arms. "I love you Sophie Devereaux…" He said before kissing her and walking her backwards to the bed. Her legs hit the edge of the bed, toppling them both onto it. He raised his head up a little and gently brushed her hair from her face. He looked at her for a moment before dropping his head to capture her lips again. It had taken him a long time to say the words and now he could not help but repeat them over and over to her. He needed her to know how much she meant to him. How much he loved her. "I…Love…You…" He said again and again emphasizing each word with small kisses placed on her lips, her forehead, her neck…

Sophie smiled to herself. This was something completely new to her. This was a different Nate. She returned his kisses, loving the feel of him. They were in a relationship yes; they had been in an intimate relationship with each other now for many months. This though was different. It had never been just sex for them, but this, this was somehow so much more. She returned his whispered confessions of love holding him tight to her. They made love then, gentle passionate love that took both their breaths away. Afterward Sophie cuddled to Nate again and ran her fingers up and down his chest.

"What does this mean for us Nate…where do we go from here?"

"I don't know Sophie; I just know that I never want to be anywhere you are not." Nate said honestly.

"You will never have to Nate. I promise you I will always be here, with you, always…" Sophie said to him softly, stretching up to place her lips on his tenderly.

"We have to finish this though. We have to make sure Hartley goes down." Nate said his voice hardening at the thought.

"Yes…yes we do." Sophie agreed.

"We can't underestimate him again. I have to come up with another plan, he knows us, he knows our faces."

"We will, you will." Sophie reassured him. He doubted himself she knew after yesterday's debacle. He doubted his ability to read the situation, to be one step ahead and to pull of this particular job. She knew he could. She knew he would come up with some brilliant plan. She never doubted him, well not when it came to being able to outsmart a lowlife like Hartley. He just needed to slow down and think.

They were both woken with the rest of the team making a racket in the kitchen area. Nate kissed Sophie and told her she could have first go at the bathroom. He then got up and made his way out to the kitchen. He found Eliot getting out pots and pans in order to make breakfast. Hardison was sat at the table with his laptop open and typing something furiously. Parker was sitting on the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal. Nate walked past Parker and got himself a cup and poured a cup of steaming coffee. Eliot watched him take his first sip and then decided now was the time for the conversation they needed to have.

"Nate…yesterday, it is never going to happen again, understood. I am the Hitter, it is my job to protect this team and you WILL listen to me in the future." Eliot said to the man.

"I agree. I am sorry." Nate replied.

"I don't…wait what…you're what?" Eliot said taken by surprise at the Masterminds' apology. Nate did not apologize, well not really.

"I said I am sorry. Look Eliot, I was an ass. I was an arrogant ass and it won't happen again." Nate said slightly amused by the myriad of emotions crossing Eliot's face at his words.

"Fine…just be sure it doesn't." Eliot said all his intentions of coming down hard on Nate gone with the man's words. He could tell that Nate meant what he said. Something had happened yesterday, something that had changed Nate. Maybe it was the fact that he had killed a man, but Eliot thought it more likely the fact that he had nearly lost Sophie.

"So you got a plan?" Eliot asked.

"I'm thinking…we can't use art, and we can't use Sophie or me, he knows us now."

"So…"

"So I'm thinking…" Nate repeated at the question. He had no idea how he was going to bring Hartley down. He finished his cup of coffee as Sophie made her appearance. He smiled at her and told the rest he was going to get cleaned up.

They were all sitting around the table just having finished breakfast when Nate looked at Sophie and smiled. It was a smile she knew as one that indicated he had a plan.

"Guys I know how we are going to take him down…" Nate announced to the team.

**Thanks again for the reviews…Please keep them coming.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"No…" Eliot repeated as Nate went through the plan again. "Did we not just get through a conversation on this very thing? Did you not say that you would listen to me when it came to security? This is not a good plan Nate…it's going to get you killed."

"Eliot, this is the only way we can get this man. You know it." Nate responded.

"No and that is final, find another way." Eliot said, he was not even going to consider this ludicrous plan.

Nate looked around the table and saw the same reaction in all of them except maybe Parker. They did not like the plan that was clear. He had thought about it though. He needed something to hook Hartley, he needed to be able to draw the man into making a mistake he could not buy or talk his way out of. He needed Hartley to get reckless. This was the way to do it. Sure there was risk in the plan but the risk was minimal to the team. He would be taking the risk and that he could deal with. This plan would work and he knew it. Before Nate could continue trying to convince them of the viability of his plan Eliot's phone rang.

Eliot looked at his phone his brow creasing into a frown when he saw who was calling.

"Jackson…" Eliot said as he answered the phone.

"Spencer, that little matter you had me keeping an eye on, well there has been a development." John Jackson, one of Eliot's erstwhile associates, one that he had kept in contact with and whom he had asked to keep his ear to the ground regarding Hartley's missing wife and kid said.

"What?"

"He has put out a hit. Kill the wife bring the kid to him. The amount is $100 000.00 dollars. I don't need to tell you how many are going to be onto this one. Somebody is going to find her, that's a given. Just thought I would give you the heads-up, will still keep my ears and eyes open but you know it's going to be a free-for-all." Jackson said summarizing his findings succinctly.

"Thanks Jackson." Eliot said before hanging up the phone. He knew Jackson would let him know if he heard anything, Jackson was still very active in the Hitter business and he heard a lot of things, he would let Eliot know the minute he came across any relevant information. The problem was that there would be a lot of people looking for the woman and her child now. No matter how well hidden she was she was going to be found. Eliot doubted that they would even know about it until she was dead and the kid taken. They had to stop the hit from the source, with the man who had put out the hit gone, well that was the only way this was going to end well. This changed things Eliot thought.

"Well?" Nate asked expectantly and slightly alarmed at Eliot's reaction to the phone call.

"Hartley's put a hit out. He wants her dead and the kid delivered to him. $100 000.00 is the offer. That's going to get a lot of people interested." Eliot relayed Jackson's information to the group.

"Ok, well then we go with my plan…actually this will play right into my hands." Nate said his mind working at double time on this new information.

"I don't like it but…it may be the only way." Eliot said reluctantly. The plan called for Nate to place himself in serious jeopardy and he did not like it one bit. If they were going to get the job done though, it was probably the only way. He knew all the words, threats or anything else was not going to make a difference. If they did not help Nate he would do it himself and that would be plain suicide.

"Ok Nate, we go with your plan…but on my terms." Eliot finally said.

"On your terms, no problem but we have to move now before it is too late." Nate said in agreement. "Hardison, can you do what I asked, and how soon?" Nate asked.

"Yeah man…but Eliot man, you can't be serious…" Hardison said very unhappy about the fact that Eliot had agreed to this plan.

"Dammit Hardison, just get Nate what he needs." Eliot said to the Hacker. He was not happy with the situation and Hardison mouthing off was not helping. He could see in Sophie's eyes that she was angry with him. The only one who was not worried was Parker. But that was because she believed that Nate could do anything and get away with it. She had complete and utter faith in the Mastermind. Her words confirmed his thoughts and brought a slight smile to Nate.

"Hardison don't be ridiculous, Nate will be alright. Nate is always alright…he has superpowers." Parker said taking another mouthful of her cereal.

**Sorry for the short chapter…and the mystery…glad you all still enjoying the story. Thank you so much for the reviews, really appreciated, please keep them coming.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Nate took a deep breath and dialed the number. He waited as the phone rang five times before it was answered.

"Hartley." Garrison Hartley answered is phone.

"Hartley…we speak again old boy." Nate said using his James Beckett's voice and accent.

"Beckett…?" Hartley said surprise showing in his voice. Not only that Beckett would call him but that he would have his private number to enable him to do so.

"That's right Hartley. If you are wondering how I got your number…well I have resources, maybe you did not do as thorough checking as you thought you had…" Nate said speaking in a slow and deliberate voice, one that held confidence and a little arrogance.

"What do you want?" Hartley said recovering quickly from his first surprised reaction.

"Well Hartley, the way I see it Old Chap is that you owe me. Not only for the painting but also for the part where I believe you tried to have me killed. Now I don't take kindly to that, it's just not cricket old boy." Nate said in his most condescending voice he could muster.

"Now you look here Beckett, I owe you nothing…you and that woman tried to swindle me. Now why don't you take your veiled threats and run back to daddy in England."

"Now, now Hartley…don't you take that tone with me old boy. I told you I have resources, I know about your business dealings, I know where your money is and I know about what you did to your wife and child. Oh and I know about the hit you put out on them…typical you not doing your own dirty work again…the only thing you are good at is hiring things out, don't have the balls to do it yourself hey. Oh and sorry about your friend Montgomery wasn't it…and of course the painting."

"What…why you…" Hartley started to say before Nate continued ignoring his interruption.

"Now I don't like it when people try to kill me, especially when it is an upstart American. Now I am going to use those resources Hartley, I am going to use them to make your life not worth living; you are going to pay for crossing me. I am going to bring you down…you…your business…your entire life as you know it is at an end…" Nate said again using his very calm, very arrogant and very confident voice. He needed to get Hartley angry, so angry that he would become reckless.

"You son-of-a-bitch…I'm..." Hartley shouted into the phone.

"Now, now old boy…do keep a lid on that temper of yours. You know I knew you were a worthless, spineless piece of work when you used your man to come at me and my LADY friend. You could not even take out a woman and a unarmed man...you had to outsource…tsk tsk…and you said I was worthless." Nate said interrupting with a little laugh at Hartley's outburst.

"Now you listen to me you bastard. You are the one who is going to pay. Nobody threatens me, NOBODY…I'm coming for your Beckett…you hear me, I'm coming for you and I am going to take great pleasure in putting a bullet right through your arrogant British head. ME..I am coming for you, you hear that Beckett. You want to play Beckett; well you picked the wrong person to play with." Hartley said having regained his composure.

The phone went dead and Nate looked at his Hitter. "Here we go…he's angry, and he is about angry enough to come after me himself." Nate said. "Now all we need is everything else to work…Hardison, his money?' Nate asked his Hacker.

"We got the money Nate; we can link him to anything you want to." Hardison confirmed his part was done.

"Good…we need this to be airtight, he can't be able to buy or bribe his way out of anything. What about the goods on his political pals?" Nate acknowledged.

"Done, we know who they are from the money trail. I gave Eliot the list with the details. I am also ready to follow the trail as soon as he sets it in motion; you just need to get him started down it." Hardison confirmed again.

"Good, Eliot…" Nate turned to his Hitter.

"I got it Nate, but…man I still don't like it." Eliot said. He did not like the fact that Nate had deliberately made a very vicious powerful man want him dead. This was a man that could make that happen when he wanted it to. He knew that was Nate's plan, he knew that from the beginning and he knew that he was going to get himself killed if he was not very, very careful. He did not like this plan, but he knew it was going to work. The way Nate had laid it out; there was no way that Hartley was going to be able to avoid taking a fall. Hopefully though, it would not be for the murder of James Jason Burlington Beckett IV.

"I know you don't like it Eliot. You've already said that. But it is in motion now so I need you to do your part." Nate said getting a little irritated with Eliot's continuing opposition even though he had agreed to the plan.

"Ok…ok…Eliot none of us like this plan, but like it or not it is now in motion. So we all do our parts ok…" Sophie said her voice soft yet firm. Eliot knew she did not like the plan. She was scared of what was about to go down. She was petrified of losing Nate, and for that reason she was going to back this plan completely and make sure everybody did what they had to. Nate's life depended on all of them coming through.

"Right…so…so Parker you need to get your part done." Nate said to her.

"Got it, Hardison has given me the stuff and I will make sure it is where it should be." Parker said, she had gone through what was expected of her and was sure she could pull it off.

"Sophie…" Nate said looking at his Grifter.

"I have an appointment tomorrow with him. Don't worry Nate, my part is covered." Sophie said confidently.

"Ok then…well I think it is time for James Beckett to head home." Nate said.

"Nate…" Eliot said as he turned to leave.

"Don't worry Eliot, he won't try anything tonight. He is going to find out what I know, who I have spoken to. He is going to check his sources and he is going to check his assets…then he will come, but then we will be ready." Nate said in reply to Eliot's unspoken warning.

"I hope to God you are right Nate, because if you have got this man wrong again…" Eliot did not finish the sentence.

"Right, yes, ok… well time to go…" Nate said. He walked over to Sophie and kissed her gently on the lips whispering his goodbye. Then he left.

The game was now on and the ball was in Hartley's court. Nate could only hope he had not misjudged the man again. His life, the con and not to mention Hartley's wife and child's lives depended on him not getting it wrong again.

**OK so I am sure that some of you are a little confused. I did not lay out the plan, I am sorry but you will just have to wait and see how it plays out. I hope you are still enjoying. Thank you Sphinx and Stella and Carebear818 and all the rest for your kind words…**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

When Nate stepped through the door to his 'rented' apartment he went straight for the kitchen and the bottle of whiskey he had stashed there. He was taking one hell of a chance and he knew it. He poured himself a glass and drank it down. Then he took the bottle and made his way to the sofa. He was sure Hartley would not act tonight, yet he could not get the uneasy feeling he had to go away. He poured himself another glass and turned on the TV. He watched for a short while then decided that he should just go to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and he needed to be prepared.

Back at Nate's apartment the rest of the team were busy with their own parts of this particular play. Hardison was intensely working on his computer. He was tracking all of Hartley's money, checking where it was going and to whom. He also had taps on Hartley's phone, his house – Parker had installed listening devices – and his office. Whatever Hartley did they were going to know about it first. Eliot walked over to Sophie who was sat on the sofa in the living area.

"You all right…?" Eliot asked her as he sat himself down next to her.

"No…no Eliot I'm not alright." Sophie replied.

"Sophie…"

"He is going to get himself killed!" Sophie whispered her voice breaking slightly. She was scared. Really scared, and she was incredibly angry. Nate had finally admitted his feelings for her. He had finally said the words she had been waiting for so long to hear. They had finally totally connected to each other. Now he was going to get himself killed. He was deliberately putting himself in a situation where he could die…how could he? How could he do this to her?

"Sophie…Nate is, well you know he can pull anything off. He always pulls it through in the end. I've got his back; we've all got his back. Hartley can't make a move without Hardison knowing about it. We have eyes on him…" Eliot emphasized this by looking at the screen which held the image of Nate sitting on the sofa. "Hardison has acquired an apartment right next to Nate's and I will be going over there in a short while." Eliot continued. He was not sure if he was trying to reassure Sophie or himself. He could see nothing he was saying was making any difference to the way Sophie was feeling. He did not blame her. He had noticed a subtle difference between her and Nate. Something had happened between them. Of course they all knew that they were in a relationship, but Eliot could tell that something had changed in that relationship. Somehow they were closer than they had ever been. It was probably what went down in France.

"I know…he…it's just…I don't know I just have a very bad feeling." Sophie finished unable to voice her concerns coherently. Maybe because she was unable to really determine what was worrying her, besides the fact that Nate could quite possibly be killed on this con. There was something else. She felt they were missing something. She could not quite put her finger on it but…well, she thought sighing heavily, there was nothing they could do not except play their parts as Nate had laid them out. She had to get into the Governor's mansion and stay there for the duration. Nate's plan called for her to involve the Governor at the right time in order to ensure Hartley's downfall. She knew how she was going to get in. Hardison had arranged an interview for her with the man. She would be posing as a small town journalist doing a piece. All she had to do was convince the Governor that she needed to follow him around for a week. She was sure she could pull that off, it was after all what she did, convince men to do what she wanted them too. Her part was not the hard part.

Eliot patted Sophie's shoulder again as he stood up to get his things together. "Ok guys, I'm going to the apartment. Everybody keeps their earbuds in at all times alright." Each of them nodded in response and then watched him leave. Nate had gone to his room presumably retiring for the night. There was no activity on Hardison's monitors.

"I think we all need to get some sleep." Sophie said to the two youngest members of the team. She rose from her position on the sofa and headed into her and Nate's room. "Goodnight you two, please get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, for both of you." Sophie said then entered her room and closed the door.

Hardison and Parker both looked at the screen just to make sure all was quiet and calm. Hardison then set up some warning signals to alert him to any kind of disturbance and then took Parkers' hand and led her into the spare room.

Eliot entered the apartment Hardison had set up for him. He could hear on his comm's the quiet deep breathing of each of his teammates. They were all asleep. He pulled a chair to face the door and sat down. Taking out his knives and tool set he set about sharpening and cleaning his weapons. This always soothed him for some reason. Eventually Eliot also drifted into sleep.

A couple of hours later Hardison was woken by the alarm on his computers. He flew out of bed and rushed over to his laptop that he had left on the night stand to the side of the bed. Looking at the screen he cursed silently.

"Nate…Nate wake up man…we got a problem…"

**Sorry another short chapter…but the action is coming I promise. Thanks again for all reviews they are greatly appreciated. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Nate…Nate wake up man…we got a problem." Hardison said loudly.

"Hardison…what the…" Nate said groggily waking from the sound of alarmed voice in his ear.

"Hartley is gone…I mean gone man…dead." Hardison said as he frantically tried to get the details off his computer.

"What…what did you say?" Nate asked immediately becoming fully awake at Hardison's revelation.

"Dead Nate…that is what I said." Hardison said agitatedly.

"How…I mean what happened, I thought you were watching him?" Nate said getting up and going to get himself a cup of coffee.

"I was man, but…I don't know the information is sketchy…" Hardison was silent for a moment then his eyes widened and he let out a low whistle. "Man Nate you are not going to like this…"

"What is it Hardison?" Sophie asked as she entered the room. She had been listening on comm's and had taken a moment to dress before making her way to the spare room that Hardison was using.

"An APB has been put out for one James Jason Burlington Beckett IV in connection with the murder of Garrison Hartley."

"What…" Four voices asked simultaneously through the comm's.

"It seems that there was a 911 call made from the Hartley residence shortly before he died. Hartley called 911 and told them that you were breaking into his house and wanting to kill him. The gunshot went off while the line was still active. He named you Nate…or rather Beckett as his killer." Hardison said taking in all the information he was getting through his networks.

"How the hell…this smells like a set up…" Eliot grunted.

"Yeah…a very good set up, we missed something…" Nate said adding a little whiskey to his morning coffee and wiping his eyes tiredly.

"Nate you have to get out of there…the cops will for you." Eliot said urging his friend into action.

"Yeah Eliot…I'm going. You guys lay low…we don't need a connection to any of you coming up in this, I need to figure out what the hell is going on." Nate said drinking the last of his coffee and making his way back to his bedroom to gather his things.

"What I don't understand is who killed Hartley and why, and why did they use Nate as the fall guy, I mean there was nobody else in play here was there?" Sophie asked confused by the whole situation.

"Hardison, I need you to go into depth on both March and Hartley, I want to know everything there is to know about them…"

"Nate man I did…"

"Well you…WE missed something…we need to find out what that something is if we are going to get out of this, preferably before I go down for murder." Nate said before Hardison could finish his protestations.

"Yeah…" Hardison said almost apologetically, he could not believe he had missed anything but obviously he had. Now Nate was wanted for murder and they were left without a clue.

"Nate…will you get the hell out of there." Eliot said urgently. "I'm on my way, will meet you in the lobby."

"I'm going…" Nate replied packing the last of his things and heading for the door.

"Damn…" Hardison said out of the blue.

"Hardison what is it?" Nate asked stopping momentarily waiting to hear if he was surrounded or something.

"I did miss something man…I don't know how but…" Hardison said apologetically. He was still typing furiously getting all the information to give to Nate when suddenly his earbud along with the others was flooded with a lot of shouting and a large bang.

Nate had just made it to the door and was about to open it when it was kicked in. Three men rushed into the room and grabbed Nate pinning his hands behind his back.

"What…" Nate tried to ask when the front man put his fist into Nate's stomach causing him to grunt and double over.

"Nate what is happening…Nate?" Sophie called into the comm's her eyes wild with worry and fear.

"I'm almost there Nate…" Eliot called and the other could hear he was running.

"No, wait, who are you guys…" Nate said the first part meant for Eliot and the second for the three men.

"Police, who did you think we were? You are under arrest for the murder of Garrison Hartley." The one who hit Nate smirked.

"What…I don't know what you are talking about old boy but I…" Nate started to say trying to play his part as Beckett.

The man smiled and buried his fist into Nate's middle again. The only thing keeping Nate from falling this time was the two men holding him up. The man then lifted Nate's bowed head and planted another blow to his face.

"Nate…" Eliot said restarting towards the apartment as he heard the beating.

"Stay away…" Nate said through gritted teeth talking to Eliot and not the men. He hoped Eliot would listen to him. He could hear other police vehicles on their way and he did not need Eliot taking out cops right now.

"What did you say you murdering bastard." The man asked as he landed another blow causing a slight growl of pain.

"Nothing…I just need some time…" Nate forced out again talking to his team and not the men.

"Time for what hey…?" The man asked again as he landed another blow. They could now all hear the approaching cops and the two men holding Nate released him. He fell to the floor on his knees with his head bent down.

The other police officers entered the room with their weapons drawn yelling for him to get on the floor. He smiled at that, could they not see he was already there. He put his hand to his stomach and with the other pushed himself into an upright kneeling position.

"I surrender…" Nate said out spitting out blood after speaking and wincing at the pain from his side and face.

"What the hell Nate, what do you want us to do…" Eliot almost growled into the comm's. "Just sit here and watch you get arrested?"

"Yes…that is exactly it…I surrender. Please could somebody tell me what is going on here?" Nate said.

"James Jason Burlington Beckett you are under arrest for the murder of Garrison Hartley…you have the right to remain silent, anything…" Nate tuned out knowing his Miranda Rights. He was thinking about what had just gone down. What had Hardison missed, what had he missed? He was not worried about getting arrested, he could escape from jail if he had too; he had done it before hadn't he. His main priority was the safety of the team right now and he was sure they had all got his meaning and would stay away, at least for now.

"Do you understand the rights as read to you?" The detective asked as they hauled him to his feet and put his hands in handcuffs.

"Yes I do…but I still would like to know what this is about…and why your men there beat me for no reason." Nate said glaring at the first three cops who had come through the door.

"Not for nothing, you tried to escape." The leader of the group said smiling at the other detectives. "We got him…you search the apartment for any evidence." He said to the detective who had read him his rights. With that the man and his two partners led Nate out the door and down the stairs.

As they walked out the door Nate saw Eliot standing a few feet away. He could see his Hitter wanted to do something, get him away from the cops. Nate shook his head slightly indicating he wanted Eliot to remain out of it. He almost regretted that decision a moment later when the burley detective shoved him into the back seat of the car and then leaned in close.

"By the way Beckett…Mr. Hartley says 'welcome to hell'." He whispered then slammed the door closed.

**Is Hartley alive? What did Hardison miss? How is Nate going to get out of this one? Next chapter will be up soon. Thanks again to all for the reviews, as always they are really appreciated.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12**

Eliotwatched the car drive off and cursed himself for not being able to follow.

"Hardison…tell me you are tracking him." Eliot asked the Hacker earnestly.

"Yeah man his GPS is functioning, they haven't removed the earbud." Hardison replied still busy getting all the facts together so he could present it to the group.

"Well we better think of something fast. When they print Nate they are going to find out that Beckett is actually Nathan Ford." Eliot said as he made his way back to the apartment.

"Nate…Nate…" Sophie called his name anxiously. She had not heard anything, not even the other men talking for a few minutes and she wanted Nate to give her some reassurance he was safe. Nate gave no reply; in fact there was complete silence on the comm's.

"Nate man just let us know you ok…" Eliot said urgently, just as worried about the Mastermind as Sophie was. Still no reply was forthcoming.

Nate sat slumped in the back of the police vehicle. As soon as the detective had climbed into the back with him he had rendered him unconscious with a blow to the head with the butt of his gun. He heard nothing of the frantic calling of Sophie or Eliot.

"Guys…guys something is wrong." Hardison said in a panicked voice.

"What now Hardison…?" Eliot said wondering how much more could go wrong with this job.

"They are not heading for the police station…Nate's GPS shows they are heading out of town." Hardison almost shouted.

"Dammit Hardison just calm down..!" Eliot said. "You are tracking them right…you can tell us where they are going right?"

"Yeah man, I got them." Hardison said forcing himself to calm down a little and focus on the GPS signal.

"When they put Nate in the car they said something about Hartley…" Sophie said replaying the last thing she had heard through the comm's.

"You're right. That means Hartley ain't dead." Eliot said suddenly remembering the words and connecting it. "That means those guys could be taking Nate straight to him."

"Wait Hartley's not dead…but he was found dead, they must have identified his body…" Parker said confused.

"It wasn't Hartley…" Sophie said in explanation coming to the same conclusion as Eliot and not liking it one little bit.

"Ok but then who is dead?" Parker said processing all the information and still remaining confused.

"Somebody else Parker, probably some sap that had the same height and weight and build as Hartley…this was planned. This was organized." Eliot concluded.

"OK…well how and why? I mean why would Hartley fake his own death, why would he plan that?" Parker asked.

"Because he was about to be taken down from both sides; the good guys and the bad ones…" Hardison said finally putting all the pieces of information he had collected together.

"What do you mean?" Eliot asked as he walked in the door. The rest also all looked at Hardison expectantly.

"Well I did not just miss one thing, I missed a couple." Hardison said his voice showing the disgust he felt for himself. If anything happened to Nate it would be his fault.

"Just tell it Hardison…whatever it is we need to deal with it, there will be time for self-recriminations later." Sophie said reading the young man perfectly.

"Ok, well…" Hardison sighed heavily. "Seems March was not only helping Hartley's wife get away from him, he had put her in contact with the FBI. They have a highly classified investigation going against Hartley for fraud, smuggling and murder. His wife was going to testify against him, seems she saw him kill somebody. That somebody was one of the Renaldo's…"

"Renaldo one of the biggest crime bosses in Washington…one of his family?" Eliot said interrupting Hardison.

"The very one…Seems Papa Renaldo was not very happy with that and was about to pay Hartley a visit and point out how unhappy he was."

"So Hartley had a crime boss gunning for him and also the FBI, wow not a great place to be in." Parker said.

"No it's not." Hardison said. "Anyway his wife had been taken into protective custody that is why we could not get a trace on her. I didn't pick this up because…well I didn't think to look into the FBI, I mean…"

"Hardison nobody blames you…this job was about …well the FBI was not even close to being involved. What made you think of looking there now anyway?" Sophie asked seeing the regret in the Hackers eyes and wanting to reassure him that it was not his fault, things like this just happen. This job was off from the start anyway.

"Well I thought I would check out March again and hacked into the FBI databases, this was a highly confidential operation…if I did not pick up a small mention of a witness protection link I would not have got Hartley's connection." Hardison said and at this point he would usually be smiling widely at his own genius. Not this time though, all he could think of that he was too late in finding this information and it may cost Nate his life.

"Ok; so…Hartley planned to be 'murdered' but by who? Who was he going to set up before Nate became the fall guy?" Sophie asked nobody in particular."

"His wife…" Parker suddenly piped up, bringing all their eyes to her. "That is why he wanted her back."

"But he put a hit out on her, he wanted her dead." Hardison reminded the blonde thief.

"Well that is what he needed…a dead person can't talk…" Parker said as if all of them should see it. "I mean, she comes home and kills Hartley, then the first cops to arrive on the scene kill her…yeah, that would work. Hartley's dead and he gets both the FBI and the bad guys off him, he gets his wife dead, and he gets his daughter to himself." Parker finished.

"She's right…he gets his daughter and gets rid of his wife and all his other problems and retires to some lovely country with all his money that is hidden off-shore and starts a whole new life... in the clear." Hardison said seeing the whole picture now.

"Hardison where is Nate now?" Eliot asked the Hacker.

"The signal stopped just outside of town…if I check on satellite…It is at some old farmhouse." Hardison said.

"Ok well we need to get out there now. Hardison what about Hartley's wife and kid…?" Eliot asked the Hitter as they made their way through the front door.

"Nothing." Hardison said.

"I don't suppose he is going to worry about them now…he doesn't have to, actually I think this will work for him just as well as his original plan if not better." Sophie said getting into the car.

"What do you mean?" Parker asked.

"Well, he is dead so the case is dead. His wife and kid will come out of witness protection because he is dead. He can go after them at his leisure now. All he needs to do is get out of the country." Sophie explained.

"You're right Sophie…" Eliot said as he steered the car in the direction Hardison had indicated. "First he is going to deal with Nate though."

"Why, I mean why not get his thugs to do it for him?" Hardison asked.

"Well because Nate managed to piss him off to the extent that he is not thinking straight when it comes to him. He wants to kill him himself." Eliot said.

Sophie stared at Eliot, he was right, and Hartley was not going to waste time either. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought that they might be too late already. Eliot had obviously come to the same conclusion and had dropped his foot onto the accelerator. None of the other occupants of the car even commented on the speed he was doing. They were all thinking the same thing…Please don't let us get there too late.

They all sucked in a deep collective breath as they heard their comm's suddenly came to life.

**Will the team get there in time to save Nate? What about Hartley, how are they going to bring him down now? Will post next chapter soon…carebear818, Sphinx and Stella and all the rest thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement to continue…all reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Wakey, wakey…" One of Hartley's bought policemen said as he slapped Nate's face in time to his chant. Nate stirred moaning slightly as he came back to consciousness. His head hurt and he could feel the dried blood on the side of his face from the blow that had rendered him unconscious.

"What the…where are we, what police station is this…?" Nate asked slightly disorientated. He was standing in the middle of the room with his hands secured above his head by chains. As full awareness returned he could feel the pain in his arms as they had been supporting his full weight for however long he had been there. He shifted his weight trying to take some of the strain off of his arms and wrists. The man smiled at Nate, a cold smile that did not show in his eyes. He planted his fist into Nate's middle taking his breath away.

"Let's just say we are making a slight detour." The man smirked. "You see you escaped…and killed the cops who were taking you in…" He said indicating with his head the bodies of the two other men who were with him when they 'arrested' Nate. "But don't worry…you are never going to serve any time for the murders you have committed." He smiled again and then walked away leaving Nate to stare at his retreating back.

"Nate…can you hear me…?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah…I hear you…" Nate replied softly bending his head slightly to hide the fact that he was talking. They had obviously not searched him. They thought they were dealing with a smug English man not a team of people. "Where are you guys…I don't think I have much time here."

"We are on our way…about fifteen minutes out. What is your situation?" Eliot replied. He wanted Nate to give him the layout so when they got there he would know what he was dealing with.

"Well let's see…I am half hanging from the ceiling, chained from the roof by my wrists…which feel like they are about to fall off. There is one of the cops that took me from the apartment here, the other two are dead. I am sure that Hartley is on the way and I don't know if he will be alone." Nate replied. "I don't think he just wants a chat either…" Nate said meaningfully as he watched the door open and Hartley enter. "Guys he is here…"

"Well, well Mr. Beckett…and how are we doing today…?" Hartley asked smugly as he stopped just in front of Nate. "You don't look to good…"

"Hartley…you look very good for a dead man." Nate said, he knew he needed to play for time. Eliot had said they were fifteen minutes out, he needed to get Hartley to hold off killing him for at least that amount of time.

"Ah yes…well to quote Mark Twain… "The rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Hartley said as he started to remove his coat. "Now Beckett you are going to learn a very valuable lesson…that is that nobody threatens Garrison Hartley…NOBODY." To emphasize his words Hartley swung around and connected his fist with Nate's face, causing the bound man to grunt in pain.

"Nate…Nate you just got to hold on we are almost there… Nate…" Sophie whispered. She hated this, she hated having to listen as Hartley beat Nate, she could hear the blows falling and she could hear that Nate was desperately trying not to cry out in pain. "Eliot we have to get there NOW…" Sophie called to the front of the van.

"Well Mr. Beckett; are you now starting to understand the error of your ways…?" Hartley asked wiping the blood from his hands. Nate hung limp from his chains he was barely conscious. Blood covered his face; both his eyes were badly swollen. His breaths came in ragged gasps and each breath caused severe pain in his chest.

"So what is the plan Hartley…hah…you disappear and live happily ever after…?" Nate asked forcing out the words between gritted teeth.

"You are on top of your game aren't you Beckett…did you figure that out all on your own?" Hartley asked sarcastically.

"Yeah well…I certainly underestimated you Hartley…but you may have underestimated me too…?" Nate said as smugly as he could muster considering his situation. He was hoping to create some curiosity in Hartley, enough to get him to put off killing him.

"Really now Beckett, and why would that be…considering the situation?" Hartley said as he took the knife that his henchman gave him. He turned toward Nate again and held the knife up in front of him.

"Well yeah it doesn't look good does it?" Nate admitted smiling crookedly. "But then you should know not everything is as it seems."

"Really Beckett, if you think that this little attempt to throw me off is going to save you…well you are wrong." Hartley said plunging the knife into Nate's side. Unable to stop himself Nate cried out in pain as the knife sank in.

"Nate…Nate…" Eliot called. "Dammit Nate just stall him we are here, we're coming in." Eliot said as the van screeched to a halt. "Parker you are with me...Hardison, Sophie you guys stay out here." Eliot commanded as he jumped from the van with Parker right behind him. As he ran towards the door he told Parker it was her job to get to Nate and that he would take care of the rest.

"Nate…please just hold on Eliot is coming for you now…" Sophie said trying to keep her voice calm.

"You are about to learn Hartley that my resources are as good as I said they were…" Nate smirked at him shutting out the pain he was feeling and the numbness that was settling throughout his body.

"Really…and what resources are those?" Hartley said sinking the knife into him again, this time in his middle. Nate gasped out on pain and bent as far forward as his restraints would allow him too.

Just then Eliot burst through the door. "Those resources you son-of –a-bitch…" Nate said haltingly and then his head fell forward and he lost consciousness.

Eliot moved with a practiced grace. Nate had been wrong; Hartley had not brought anybody with him. He probably thought he did not need them. First he took out the cop and then turned to Hartley who had pulled out a gun as he turned toward Eliot. Pulling his arm back Eliot let the knife go. It sped through the air glinting in the brightly lit room until it buried itself in Hartley's chest. Hartley stopped all movement and stared first at Eliot then at the knife hilt protruding from him. He then sank boneless to the ground his eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling.

As Eliot dealt with the two in the room Parker ran straight for Nate. She ignored any danger from the men trusting that Eliot would cover her. She got to Nate and called his name. She got no response. Nate's shirt was soaked in blood from the two knife wounds and he hung limply from his bonds.

"Eliot, I need you…" Parker shouted as she grabbed a nearby chair and used it to get herself up onto the beam Nate was hung from. She quickly picked the lock and released Nate who collapsed into the arms of the waiting Sophie. Neither Eliot nor Parker had seen her enter. She knew Eliot wanted her outside the house for her own safety but it was Nate they were talking about here and that was never going to happen. She slowly lowered the inert form to the floor. She called his name softly and passed her and over his bruised and battered face. Looking down she saw the blood covered shirt from the two knife wounds that Hartley had given him. Parker landed gracefully on the ground and then set about releasing Nate's bound wrists from their restraints.

Eliot made sure there was no more threat from either man and then made his way quickly to Nate's side. Taking one look at Nate's state he ripped open his shirt revealing the two wounds. Blood poured from both. Taking Nate's shirt he made two makeshift pressure pads and then took his belt off wrapping it around Nate's waste to keep them in place. He looked up at the Grifter who was mumbling to Nate to hold on they had him now and everything was going to be ok.

"This is bad Sophie…we need to get him to a hospital and fast." Eliot said lifting Nate effortlessly into his arms and running toward the door with Parker and Sophie in tow. "Hardison the van NOW…"

**Thanks again for the reviews as always greatly appreciated.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

As they exited the building Hardison pulled up at the door. Parker passed Eliot and opened the back door allowing Eliot to enter carrying Nate. He carefully lay the injured man down on the back floor. Sophie and Parker both entered, Parker making her way to the front seat beside Hardison while Sophie took up a position next to Nate. As soon as they were all in Hardison floored the gas pedal and set off for the nearest hospital.

"Hardison ID's?" Eliot asked as he tried to stem the blood flow from Nate's wounds. When they reached the hospital they would need fake ID's, Nate was a wanted man and they needed to keep the police off their backs.

"A little busy here Eliot…Check what Nate has on him."

"Dammit Hardison…he doesn't have any on him." Eliot said as he checked Nate's wallet for identification.

"Well Eliot what am I supposed to do about that…? Huh, can you see I am trying to get us to the hospital alive…" Hardison shouted back. He was scared, scared he would not make it to the hospital in time and that Nate would die. He was already feeling guilty for missing the information that had caused Nate to be in this state as it was.

"It doesn't matter…we just need to get Nate to a hospital…we'll worry about the rest then." Sophie said running her hand over Nate's sweat soaked forehead. His breath was starting to get laboured and his pulse was weakening. Sophie looked up into Eliot's eyes and saw there something she was afraid she would. Nate was dying.

"Nathan Ford, don't you dare do this to me. You can't just tell me you love me, say the words I have been waiting for so long to hear, and then leave me. You hear me Nate, you can't leave me." Sophie whispered to him tears forming streaks down her cheeks as she leaned into Nate and ran her hands through his sweat drenched hair.

"Hardison…how much longer?" Eliot asked his voice calm but not quite hiding his worry.

"We're here…" Hardison said swinging the van into the parking lot and gunning the motor as he sped towards the emergency entrance. Pulling up and screeching to a halt as Parker sprang from the van and opened the sliding door. Hardison ran into the reception and called out for a doctor. Eliot exited the van carrying Nate's limp body.

There was frenetic action as the doctors arrived and took Nate from Eliot. Eliot ran next to the gurney with Sophie following behind. As they ran towards the emergency rooms Eliot listed Nate's injuries and what he could tell them about his heart rate and respiration. He came to a halt as they passed through the treatment room doors and the nurse stopped both him and Sophie from going any further.

"What is his name…?" The nurse asked.

"Nathan Ford…Nate." Sophie said without thinking. The nurse nodded in thanks then turned and left closing the door behind her. Sophie put her hands on the door and whispered his name softly.

Eliot took Sophie and led her to the waiting room where Parker and Hardison joined them. Once he had Sophie on a chair and had satisfied himself she was ok he turned to the Hacker.

"We need cover…we need to end this." Eliot said to Hardison. He knew they had to do it but had no idea how to. "Dammit Hardison, I can't do this you have too." Eliot said snapping the Hacker out of his frozen state.

Tearing his eyes away from the door they had just taken Nate through Hardison looked at the Eliot. What the hell did the man want from him? What was he supposed to do? Ok…so they had five dead men in a farmhouse, one of them was supposed to be dead already killed by Nate. He nodded his head slowly as an idea formed in his head. Telling Eliot to let him know the minute he heard anything from the doctors he headed out to the van. He needed his computer if he was going to make this right. He had to make this right. Parker looked over at Eliot who signaled to her to follow the Hacker. Once both of them were gone he went back to sit beside Sophie to wait for news.

Hardison got back to the van. He climbed in and started her up just as Parker jumped into the passenger seat. "Where are we going?" She asked closing the door.

Hardison did not answer, merely moving the van into the parking area and stopping in one of the designated spots. He then moved to the back of the van and got out his computer. Parker said nothing just watched as he worked feverishly on the machine.

"There…that should take care of everything…" Hardison said an hour later and sat back in his seat. Parker had no idea what he had done but patted him on the back and nodded to him in response. They had heard nothing from either Eliot or Sophie. Looking at each other they both exited the van and headed back to the waiting area where they had left the Grifter and Hitter.

They found Sophie and Eliot still in the seats they had left them in. Both were still covered in Nate's blood and Hardison could tell they had not moved since they had left them there. He and Parker took their seats beside them in silence. Hardison nodded briefly to Eliot indicating that the job was done.

Dr. Brent Russell walked through the emergency doors thirty minutes later. "Nathan Ford's family…?" He asked as he approached them.

"Yes…yes doctor…is he ok?" Sophie asked as she stood to speak to him.

"Mr. Ford is fine. He came through surgery well and is in recovery. The two knife wounds, although deep did not damage any major organs. Our main concern was the amount of blood that he lost, however we gave him a transplant and we repaired the damage that was done. He did have a few cracked ribs and some other damage from a beating he took, we also repaired those. He is going to need quite a lot of recovery time, but he will be fine. As soon as he has fully awoken from the anesthetic we will be moving him to a private room."

"Thank you doctor, thank you so much." Sophie said grabbing the man's hand and pumping it.

"You are most welcome Mrs. Ford." The doctor smiled. "Well I will let my nurse show to his room as soon as we have moved him." He nodded to the four and then left.

"He's going to be fine…he's going to be fine…" Sophie said turning and throwing her arms around Eliot, tears of joy falling down her face.

Ten minutes later they all filed into Nate's room. He was lying on the bed looking fragile and weak but alive.

"Hey guys…" He managed to get out as he saw them enter.

"Oh Nate…" Sophie said as she moved to his side and took his hand. "You don't ever do that again…Ok…"

"Sophie…" Nate said seeing her so distraught shook him. "Ok…I promise." He said with a smile on his face. "What about Hartley?" He asked looking at Eliot.

"Taken care of." Eliot said simply not wanting to go into details.

"And the rest is also taken care of Nate…you…we are in the clear." Hardison said.

"Good…" Nate said closing his eyes. He was tired. He wanted to sleep but he first had wanted to make sure the team was safe. "That's good…" he slurred out as he drifted back into sleep.

"Shhh…shhh…Nate sleep, we will deal with everything else when you are stronger." Sophie said stroking his hair softly.

Once Nate was asleep again Sophie turned to Hardison. "Is there going to be any fallout?" She asked the Hacker.

"No…like I said it's taken care of." Hardison said turning up the volume of the TV and nodding towards it.

'_BREAKING NEWS…' flashed on the screen…_

_Garrison Hartley was found dead for a second time today. His body was found with that of three detectives who were last seen taking the suspect James Jason Barrington Beckett IV into custody for Hartley's murder. According to our sources close to the FBI, agents from the witness protection unit found a computer at the scene which is said to contain details of a conspiracy by Hartley to kidnap and kill his wife who was set to testify against him in a murder trial. It would appear that Mr. Hartley and the three detectives who were helping him were killed in a dispute between themselves. It is assumed at this time that Mr. Hartley had Mr. Beckett killed by the detectives and the FBI are at this time trying to locate the location of Mr. Beckett's body._

_We will have more on this strange and bizarre tale of murder and conspiracy as and when the details become known…_

"Should I ask?" Eliot said questioningly.

"Later…when he can hear too…I'm not going to tell it twice." Hardison said a huge smile splitting his face.

"Fine." Eliot said then looked toward Sophie. "He's going to be asleep for a while Sophie, let's go get cleaned up and then we can come back…" Eliot said to the Grifter.

Sophie wanted to protest but knew Eliot was right, they needed to get cleaned up and sitting here with him was not going to do anything. She nodded and stood. Leaning over Nate she placed a kiss on his forehead and whispered some words the others could not hear. "You sure Hardison…?" Sophie asked the Hacker as she passed him.

"Sure Sophie…it's taken care of." Hardison confirmed as he followed her out of the room. They all needed to get a shower and some rest and he was sure he had done his part. Nate was safe. They were safe.

**There will be an epilogue…hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for the reviews.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

When the team arrived at the hospital the next morning they were shocked to see two policemen Nate's room standing at his bed and questioning him. Eliot was about to charge into the room and get Nate out when Hardison grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Just relax bro…it's sorted…I told you that didn't I?" Hardison said in a voice that conveyed mock hurt.

"Dammit Hardison, what the hell is going on?" Eliot asked in a hushed voice watching as the policeman shook Nate's hand and then left.

"Told you man…I fixed it all." Hardison smiled back at him.

Sophie ignored the boys and headed into Nate's room. She approached his bed and bent down to place a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Nate…how are you feeling?" She asked softly running her hand through his messed up hair.

"Like I been stabbed twice and beaten to an inch of my life…" Nate said giving her a lopsided grin. He pushed himself further up in the bed grimacing slightly at the effort.

"Hey Nate…" Hardison said as he entered.

"Hardison…mugged…really?" Nate said to the Hacker. He had just spent the last thirty minutes being interviewed by the cops on if he remembered anything about his mugging.

"Well I needed to explain the injuries…you know they report all cases that come into the hospital don't you?" Hardison said in explanation.

"So how did you pull off the rest?" Nate asked the Hacker. The rest of the team also looked at him with curiosity

"Oh that…well that was easy…I mean all I did was alert the FBI to the fact that their witness was in danger, and tell them where to find the 'dead' man, also leaked the in information on the hit that he had put out on the wife and kid. The cops were easy, just exposed their whole operation, fraud etc…that they had been running and then made a police report about your mugging. I mean, did you doubt me guys…did you?" Hardison said smiling and doing the obligatory shake with Eliot in recognition of his own genius.

Nate smiled at the Hacker. "Not for a minute…"

"Ok guys I think Nate needs his rest now…" Sophie said looking at the man in the bed and seeing the tiredness that had started to settle over him. It had only been a day since he nearly died and although he would never admit it the ordeal had taken its toll on him.

The rest of the team nodded their assent and one by one filed out of the room. Each of them telling Nate to take care and they would be back to see him later. Nate smiled at each of their well wishes. When they had all left and Eliot being the last out had closed the door behind him Nate turned to Sophie.

"Sophie…are you OK?" Nate asked seeing the tears in her eyes as she looked at him.

"You almost died Nate…I almost lost you yesterday." Sophie said taking his hand in hers and bending her head slightly.

"But I didn't Sophie…" Nate said reaching out with his other hand and lifting her head to look into her eyes. "Sophie…"

"I can't lose you Nate…" Sophie said softly.

"You never will Sophie…" Nate whispered to her. He knew it was a lie, their lives were dangerous; their jobs were dangerous.

"You can't guarantee that Nate…"

"No, I can't. But we can stop this Sophie…if that is what you want, we can retire and not take another job." Nate said meaning every word. He would give up this life, to make her happy he would retire and live happily ever after on some remote island if that was what she wanted.

"No…no we can't. This is what we do Nate…" Sophie said with a tinge of regret in her voice. She would like nothing better than to make sure that he was never in danger again. She knew that was not possible. This is what they did. They helped people and she knew that none of them would be happy doing anything else. They could not go back to the way they were before and there was nothing any of them would rather do.

"All I want…well, you need to start taking care Nate. You put yourself in harm's way without even taking us into consideration."

"Sophie…"

"No Nate…listen to me. You need to promise me that you will take better care of yourself. You need to promise me you will remember that you HAVE something to live for…" Sophie said tears once again welling in her eyes.

Nate reached up and wiped the tear from her eye. Then raised himself up off the bed to kiss her lips, the pain of the movement ignored in the tender moment. "I love you Sophie…and I will never leave you...not willingly." He said softly falling back onto his cushions.

"I love you too Nate." Sophie said gently. Although she knew he meant what he said, she also knew him. She knew that if putting himself in danger was the only way to make the con work, he would do it. That was who he was. He tried to keep them out of danger, but he ignored taking care of himself. She was never going to change that and if she wanted to be with him she would have to live with it. "Now get some sleep, we will talk more later."

Nate smiled at her and closed his eyes. He knew this was not over. He knew he was reckless with his own life. It had never mattered much to him before this. Now though, now that he had finally allowed himself to admit what this woman meant to him, he knew she was right, he did have someone to live for. He would take more care, of them and of himself, he thought as sleep overtook him.

**The end. Hope you enjoyed the epilogue. I really enjoyed writing this story. Thank you all for your reviews and kind words. **


End file.
